Archives › Keith Arnold
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For a long time 38-0 signified the gap between Notre Dame and college football’s elite programs. In 2003, Michigan embarrassed the Irish, a top five team proving skeptics right that 2002 was a fluke as the Wolverines pounded the Irish, holding Notre Dame to just seven first downs and 140 yards. “They came at us…
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The Gatorade bath sincerely surprised Brian Kelly, distracted by Robby Toma until a few chilly gallons of hydration poured down on the Irish head coach’s head in celebration of an undefeated home schedule. In Notre Dame’s 38-0 victory, a game that was all but decided by the game’s tenth minute, the Irish celebrated the team’s…
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It’s our final home game of the season. A year after autumn felt like it took an eternity, this season has flown by. Excruciating losses in gut-wrenching fashion tend to do that to you, and while there has been some heart-stopping theater this season as well, piling up wins seems to make the weeks go…
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It’ll be an emotional afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium this afternoon, when 83,000 fans thank a senior class for its time in South Bend. But there’s also a football game to play, and that’s been quite the ignored subplot for a team that’s trying to exit Notre Dame Stadium at 11-0 for the first time…
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With the final home game of the season upon us, the pregame festivities tomorrow afternoon will honor the 29 seniors set to graduate at the end of the school year. For most, it’ll be their last game at Notre Dame Stadium. For all, it’ll be a tremendous moment, especially considering the ups-and-downs this class has…
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Saturday ends another autumn of football at Notre Dame. When the No. 3 Fighting Irish run out of the tunnel against 5-5 Wake Forest, a contingent of 29 seniors will be honored for their commitment to their university. Some, like Manti Te’o and Tyler Eifert, have carried the flag for the program as they ascended…
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We can spend tomorrow and Saturday listening to Boyz II Men and getting out the yearbooks and hankies, but it’s been a good run for the Notre Dame senior class. Led by All-Americans Manti Te’o and Tyler Eifert, this class fought its way through some pretty horrific times and led a resurgence that has made…
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On Saturday afternoon in Notre Dame Stadium, we won’t be short on subplots. A group of seniors will be saying goodbye to the Golden Dome. Manti Te’o will take his curtain call. And the Irish will look to sway some undecided voters as they try to make up ground in a three-team race for the…
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It’s hard to come to grips with the fact that Manti Te’o will be playing his final home game at Notre Dame Stadium. From the day he chose Notre Dame over USC at a high school banquet in Hawaii, Te’o’s was expected to do big things at Notre Dame. Yet in his senior season, it’s…
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A year after surviving a battle in Winston-Salem, Notre Dame returns the favor, hosting Wake Forest in South Bend, the final home game of the season. For the Irish, every game is must-see TV, with an undefeated season on the line and a home record that’s included nothing but nail-biters. For the Demon Deacons, it…
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With 26 seniors getting set to play their final game in Notre Dame Stadium, you could understand if media members were less inclined to discuss the challenges Wake Forest present, but rather ask Brian Kelly what it’ll be like for guys like Manti Te’o and Tyler Eifert, All-American performers playing their final game at home.…
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With two Saturdays left in Notre Dame’s season, two highly unrealistic scenarios are close to playing out before our very eyes. First, the Irish might run the table, completing as improbable of a undefeated regular season as you can remember. Second, it might not matter, and a 12-0 Notre Dame will be held out of…
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In a season filled with workmanlike effort and bottom-line results, Saturday night’s 21-6 victory fits in nicely with a recurring theme this season. Notre Dame, up to No. 3 in the polls after an Alabama loss, continued its march towards immortality, picking up its tenth victory and doing so in a manner befitting of this…
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As it happens every year, college football becomes a true circus in November. With undefeated teams jockeying for postseason position, pundits screaming about bowl projections and odd-men-out, and elite teams crumbling under late-season pressure, this is the time of year that college football fans relish, if only for the certainty of absolute uncertainty. Days like…
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The first shock-wave just reverberated across college football. Alabama, long thought the most impervious to upset, just had its undefeated season ended at the hands of a precocious young quarterback known as Johnny Football. With the nation’s top team off the grid, the Irish have an opportunity to make a few waves this evening as…
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A week after being pushed to their limit by a feisty underdog, No. 4 Notre Dame is in Boston ready to take on a school that relishes any opportunity to knock off the Fighting Irish. Some might say when Boston College plays Notre Dame you can throw away the records. But to do that would…
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When Notre Dame goes to Chestnut Hill, they’ll be playing not just to get to 10-0, but to continue a winning streak against a rival that brings out the ire of Irish fans everywhere. Even with Boston College 2-7 and in the midst of a season that’ll likely end with Frank Spaziani getting fired, you…
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A few weeks ago, Brian Kelly went on with Colin Cowherd, the ESPN radio personality, and went head-to-head with a guy that’s been fairly skeptical of the Irish revival. Yesterday, Kelly went on with Dan Patrick and discussed the 9-0 Irish, hitting some good topics along the way. Probably the most interesting was Kelly’s vote…
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No matter the record, the Boston College game is always one worth circling on the calendar. (Which leads me to an aside, does anybody actually know someone that circles a date on a calendar? Does anyone actually print out a football calendar? I’m a bookmark kind of guy, and by mid-August, I’ve pretty much got…
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The final spots in the 2013 recruiting class are all but filled. But Notre Dame picked up another important recruit in the 2014 class this morning, with Brooklyn defensive tackle Jay Hayes pledging his commitment to the Irish. “He committed to Notre Dame this morning,” Poly Prep head coach Dino Mangiero told BlueandGold.com. “He loves…
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Things aren’t so happy in Chestnut Hill. After winning 30 games from 2006-2008, Boston College athletic director Gene DiFilippo made the controversial decision to fire head coach Jeff Jagodzinski for interviewing for the head coaching position with the New York Jets. After two seasons, including one where the Eagles ended in the AP top ten,…
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It’s officially uncharted territory for Notre Dame. For much of the past month, the Irish have been compared to the 2002 squad, Tyrone Willingham’s first team in South Bend that won thanks to a relentless defense and an opportunistic offense. For three quarters last Saturday, it appeared those comparisons were all too familiar. Facing a…
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Notre Dame’s recruiting class is nearly full at 22 members. And thanks to a weekend visit to South Bend by linebacker Alex Anzalone, it’ll stay that way. The Wyomissing, Pennsylvania linebacker won his section championship on Saturday afternoon then took a drive to South Bend, spending Sunday and Monday with the Notre Dame coaches and…
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As you could probably imagine from the uproar on the web, there’s been quite a bit of discussion about Notre Dame’s triple-overtime 29-26 victory. The close shave, along with the impressive Oregon victory over USC, was enough to drop Notre Dame down to the No. 4 spot in the BCS rankings, their same ranking in…
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Make no mistake, this is a football game that Notre Dame finds a way to lose. Yet down 14 points in the fourth quarter, the No. 4 Fighting Irish kept plugging away, failing to let the litany of mistakes they made Saturday afternoon get in the way of a season that seems destined for greatness…
